Noteworthy Practice: VDOT Pedestrian Safety Action Plan
Source: Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Noteworthy Practice: VDOT Pedestrian Safety Action Plan
“E is for Everybody”: Using Equity to Prioritize Pedestrian Safety Projects and Make the Case for Greater State Funding
Like many States across the country, Virginia is facing a pedestrian safety crisis. On average, 70-90 pedestrians were killed per year from the early 2000s to 2016. Starting in 2016, pedestrian fatalities increased dramatically to 111 to 122 per year; this was followed by a large increase to over 170 in 2022. To address this crisis and reach their goal of zero deaths, which is set in the State’s SHSP, 1 VDOT developed a Pedestrian Safety Action Plan (PSAP): bit.ly/VDOTPSAP. 2 Through collaboration with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), VDOT incorporated VDH’s Health Opportunity Index (HOI) in their PSAP update to proactively and systemically prioritizes locations for pedestrian safety improvements.
